Evolution of American Football

American Football has emerged as one of America’s most popular sports to watch and favorite pastime in the fall and winter seasons. This intense and competitive sport was invented in the early 19th century by the “father of football”, Walter Camp (Camp 1). Walter Camp was a football captain and head coach at Yale University. The historical figure, Walter Camp, invented the rules that transformed rugby football into American football, which he all told in his book American Football. He created the rules of a team having eleven men, the use of a line of scrimmage, the point system, and a system of four downs. In the 21st century, which we are currently in, football is almost played the same way but has changed dramatically over time. Many aspects of football have changed including equipment, rules, the popularity of the sport, and athleticism of the players.

The first professional game of football ever played was at the college level. It was between two Ivy League schools named Rutgers and Princeton. The historical game was played on November 6,1869 in New Brunswick, New Jersey (Danzig, Intro). Before a standard number of players were regulated to play on a team, there were twenty-five men on each team. Football games were played in a series of three games and whoever won two of the three would be declared the winner, similar to NBA and MLB playoff series. The team that scored six goals first would win one of the games in the series (Danzig 3). The game was won by Rutgers University, at a time period where the captains of the teams would debate the rules right before the game. All of this was before Walter Camp stepped onto the football scene.

Walter Camp is known as the father of American football for creating important changes in football that make the game so unique now. He developed the system of downs and yards you have to gain to get a first down, first it was five then turned...

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Football History
Football originated from a primitive game of rugby played in America in the 1840s. In 1880, Walter Camp, considered the "Father of AmericanFootball," exchanged the traditional rugby scrum for a line of scrimmage. In 1882, the four down system was introduced to negate Princeton and Yale's strategy to hold the ball without trying to score. The following year, Camp reduced the number of players to eleven, and introduced the seven-man offensive line, with a quarterback, two halfbacks, and a full back. The first professional game was played in 1895. The National Football League (NFL) began in the early 1920s. Today, football is one of the most popular sports in the United States.
Football Rules
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...Period: 2
AP/Lang
Soccer vs. American Footbal
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5th period
The History of AmericanFootball
Even though football is an American game its origins came from villages and schools in Europe for many centuries before America was even settled by Europeans. They played in the streets and oddly used a lemon as their ball.
Soon many universities started creating their own teams and competing against each other. It took awhile, however, because it was a very rough and violent game so many colleges banned the game.
Walter Camp is considered to be the “Father of Americanfootball”. He is widely considered to be the most important figure in the development of the game.
When he was young, he excelled in sports like track, baseball, and soccer, and after enrolling at Yale in 1876, he earned varsity honors in every sport the school offered.
Camp joined the Massasoit House conventions where rules were debated and changed. He proposed his first rule change at the first meeting he attended in 1878. His idea was for there to be a reduction from fifteen players to eleven. The motion was rejected at that time but later passed in 1880. The effect was to open up the game and emphasize speed over strength.
Camp's most famous change, the establishment of the line of scrimmage and the snap from center to quarterback, was also passed in 1880. Originally, the snap was executed with the foot of the center. Later changes made...